Octopus Agile is one of the most talked-about electricity tariffs in the UK, and one of the most misunderstood. This page is a plain explainer of what the Octopus Agile tariff is, how it works, and who it actually suits.
What is Octopus Agile?
Octopus Agile is a half-hourly electricity tariff from Octopus Energy. Instead of paying a single unit rate all day, you pay 48 different unit rates, one for each half-hour. Those rates are tied to the wholesale electricity market, so they go up and down with supply and demand on the grid.
Agile is electricity only. If you’re on Agile for your power, your gas sits on a separate Octopus tariff. It’s available to existing Octopus customers with a smart meter that sends half-hourly readings.
How does Octopus Agile work?
The mechanics are unusual but straightforward once you’ve seen them once.
Each afternoon, Octopus publishes the next day’s 48 unit rates. The release window is between 4pm and 10pm, but in practice the prices land close to 4pm most days. From that point on, you can see exactly what tomorrow’s electricity will cost in every half-hour slot.
Prices are calculated from the day-ahead wholesale market, with a regional multiplier (Agile rates vary by DNO region, so London pays a different rate to Yorkshire), plus a peak-time uplift between 4pm and 7pm. As of April 2026, Octopus also subtracts 3.5p/kWh from the final figure, reflecting government changes that removed certain levies from electricity bills.
You can check rates in the Octopus app, on the website, or through third-party tools. There’s a public Agile API too, which is why so many smart home setups, batteries, and EV chargers can automate around the prices without manual input.
The price cap on Agile
Agile is not covered by the Ofgem standard variable tariff price cap. Instead, Octopus applies its own cap called Price Cap Protect, which sits at 100p/kWh including VAT. You will never pay more than that for a half-hour slot, no matter what the wholesale market does. For context, the Ofgem default tariff cap from 1 April 2026 is set at £1,641 a year for a typical dual-fuel household.
The 100p/kWh ceiling sounds high. It exists because raw wholesale prices can briefly exceed 200p/kWh in extreme conditions, and the cap is what stops those moments hitting customers in full.
Plunge pricing (negative prices)
When the grid has more electricity than it needs, usually on windy nights or sunny low-demand afternoons, wholesale prices can fall below zero. Agile passes that through. During plunge events the unit rate is negative, meaning you’re effectively paid to use electricity. Octopus sends alerts when these slots are coming. They still happen in 2026, though they remain occasional rather than daily.
Current Octopus Agile prices
Specific Agile prices change every 30 minutes and vary by region, so any number quoted on a static page is out of date the moment it’s written. The pattern is more useful than the figures.
Across a typical day in 2026, Agile rates tend to look something like this:
- Overnight (roughly 11pm to 6am): often the cheapest window, sometimes well under 10p/kWh, occasionally negative.
- Morning and middle of the day: moderate, broadly in line with or below the standard variable rate.
- 4pm to 7pm: the peak window. Often the most expensive, especially in winter, where rates of 30p to 50p/kWh are common and short spikes can run higher.
- Evening after 7pm: rates fall back, though not always to overnight lows.
Rates also shift seasonally. Winter peaks are sharper. Summer days, especially sunny windy ones, throw up more cheap and negative slots. For live and next-day prices, see our Octopus Agile Dashboard.
Who is Octopus Agile good for?
Agile rewards households that can genuinely shift their electricity usage. The honest answer is that the bigger the load you can move out of the 4pm to 7pm window, the more sense Agile makes.
It tends to work well for:
- EV owners who charge overnight and can schedule their charger to match the cheapest slots.
- Households with home batteries, which can charge during cheap periods and discharge through the peak.
- Heat pump users with the flexibility to pre-heat the house earlier in the day or overnight.
- Solar plus battery setups, particularly when paired with an export tariff like Outgoing Agile or Outgoing Fixed.
- Smart home enthusiasts who automate appliances around the API.
- Anyone who can shift the bulk of laundry, dishwashing, and cooking away from the early evening.
Who should avoid Octopus Agile?
Agile isn’t for everyone. It tends to be a poor fit for:
- Households without a working smart meter sending half-hourly readings.
- People whose lives genuinely require heavy electricity use between 4pm and 7pm, especially in winter, with no realistic way to shift it.
- Anyone on a tight budget who needs predictable monthly bills. Agile bills can swing meaningfully month to month.
- Households uncomfortable with checking prices, even occasionally, or with daily price variation in general.
- All-electric homes with high evening demand and no battery, no EV, and no solar.
If you can’t move the bulk of your evening load, Flexible Octopus or Octopus Tracker is usually the safer choice.
Eligibility and how to switch
To go on Agile you need to be an existing Octopus Energy customer (new switchers are placed on a standard tariff first), have a SMETS2 smart meter or a compatible upgraded SMETS1, and have half-hourly meter readings active. Agile is opted into through your Octopus account.
There are no exit fees and no fixed term. If Agile doesn’t suit you, you can switch back to Flexible Octopus or another Octopus tariff at any time. One constraint worth knowing: if you leave Agile, there’s typically a 30-day wait before you can return.
Octopus Agile vs other Octopus tariffs
Agile sits at the most variable end of the Octopus range.
| Tariff | Pricing mechanism | How often the price changes | Smart meter required | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Octopus Agile | Half-hourly, tied to day-ahead wholesale market, capped at 100p/kWh | Every 30 minutes | Yes | EVs, batteries, heat pumps, anyone who can shift load |
| Octopus Tracker | Daily rate following wholesale | Once per day | Yes | People who want wholesale exposure without half-hourly variation; covers gas and electricity |
| Flexible Octopus | Standard variable | Updates with the Ofgem cap, roughly quarterly | No | Households wanting predictable bills with no active management |
Agile is the only one of the three that lets you access negative prices, and the only one that demands you actively work around peak hours.
FAQ
Is Octopus Agile cheaper than the price cap?
It can be, on average, for households that successfully shift load away from peak hours. It can also be more expensive for households that don’t. Agile isn’t covered by the Ofgem price cap; it has its own 100p/kWh cap on individual half-hour rates, which is a different thing.
Do I need a smart meter for Octopus Agile?
Yes. Agile is a half-hourly tariff, so a smart meter capable of sending half-hourly readings is mandatory. Most SMETS2 meters work. Some SMETS1 meters do too, depending on make and whether they’ve been upgraded.
What time are Octopus Agile prices cheapest?
In most cases, overnight, roughly 11pm to 6am. Sunny and windy afternoons can also produce cheap or negative slots. The most expensive window is usually 4pm to 7pm, especially in winter.
Does Octopus Agile still have plunge pricing (negative prices)?
Yes. Plunge pricing is still part of Agile in 2026. Negative slots remain occasional rather than routine, and Octopus sends alerts when they’re coming.
Are there exit fees on Octopus Agile?
No. Agile has no exit fees and no fixed term. You can leave at any time. If you leave and want to come back, there’s typically a 30-day cooling-off period before you can rejoin.
How is Octopus Agile different from Octopus Tracker?
Tracker changes your unit rate once a day and covers both gas and electricity. Agile changes your electricity rate every half hour and is electricity only. Tracker is less volatile. Agile offers more upside, more downside, and the possibility of negative prices.
When are next-day Agile prices published?
Next-day prices are released between 4pm and 10pm, usually around 4pm. From that point you can see all 48 half-hourly rates for the following day.